The symphonic progressive rock revival of the last few
years has sustained itself through a variety of bands utilizing the power of
creativity to explore new avenues of expression. Jonas Reingold is one of the
moving forces of the symphonic prog-rock movement.

Reingold is a busy man with his bass playing duties prog-rock stalwarts The
Flower Kings and lesser known outfits Tangent, Time Requiem, Kaipa, and
Karmakanic. It’s been four years since Karmakanic released “Wheel of Life.”
Karmakanic’s latest effort, and third overall, is titled “Who’s the Boss in the
Factory?” I’m sure most folks won’t be able to figure much from that title – and
I’ll not be of much help either.

“Who’s the Boss in the Factory?” features songs that run from five minutes to
nearly twenty minutes – it’s the variety in compositions that gives Karmakanic
its strength. The rocking “Let in Hollywood” is a jumpy and an unexpected gem.
“Two Blocks from the Edge” features the tone of desperation rarely heard in
symphonic prog-rock. The epic “Send A Message from the Heart” is heartfelt and
most evocative of early Yes.

Reingold’s skills as a composer have improved since the last Karmakanic disc;
his bass and keyboard playing are stellar as always. Guitarist Jonzon relies on
patience and understated melodies to brighten the band’s music. Edman’s vocals
approach near-David Bowie tenor. Csorsz is an exemplary drummer who can really
turn it on when the music calls for it.

“Who’s the Boss in the Factory?” was produced by Jonas Reingold. The clean
production enhances the quiet nature of the songs into broader spectrums of
sound in a near

Karmakanic is Goran Edman on vocals, Krister Jonzon on
guitars, Jonas Reingold on bass and keyboards, and Zoltan Csorsz on drums.

Progressive rock newcomers Karmakanic have
released their second effort "Wheel Of Life" on the Regain Records North America
label. Regain is a label that is best known for their semi-official slogan 'quality
not quantity' and that certainly applies here. Regain has a modestly sized
roster of bands, but you've probably heard those bands or at least heard of
them. Except Karmakanic – you've probably not heard of these guys. But that's
okay because this is where the 'quality' part plays such an important part of
the label's philosophy.

The Regain roster of bands leans heavily
towards the black metal style. As such, you could almost say that it doesn't
help that Karmakanic sticks out like a sore thumb because of their symphonic
progressive rock style. But, after one spin of Karmakanic's "Wheel Of Life," you'll
know that the quality of the music is more than enough to exceed the bounds of
people's perceptions of what a Regain Records band is all about.

The symphonic style of Karmakanic's music
harkens back to the prog-rock heyday back in the '70s and of course the recent
late '90s/early '00s resurgence of the genre. Of course, the music is very much
in the accomplished manner and it is not difficult to call these guys virtuosos.
The crazy thing about most symphonic prog-rock albums (to me anyway) is that I
tend to like certain parts of the songs rather than the entire songs themselves.
The eight songs on "Wheel Of Life" run the gamut from under five minutes to over
fourteen minutes. And the cool thing is that I like pretty much everything about
each song as a separate entity and the album as a whole. Additionally, the album
clocks in at more than 65 minutes, but never seems that long due to its
effortless flow.

Karmakanic's "Wheel Of Life" is exquisitely
performed. "Wheel Of Life" is for fans of The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard, RPWL.,
early Yes, and Kaipa.

"Wheel Of Life" was produced by Jonas Reingold.
The production is clean and crystal clear – no doubt it was of paramount
importance that Reingold as a member of the band knew exactly what he wanted and
was able to achieve it as the producer.

Karmakanic: Goran Edman on vocals, Krister
Jonzon on guitars, Jonas Reingold on bass and keyboards, and Zoltan Csorsz on
drums. There are numerous guests not the least of whom is Roine Stolt (The
Flower Kings).